Saying they were demanding little from state legislators other than reducing impediments to economic growth and to continue opposing programs coming from the White House, Americans for Prosperity-Florida and tea party members from across the state gathered at the Capitol on Wednesday for the first of two Patriot Days.

In addition to meeting with legislators in their offices and a dinner at the North Florida Fairgrounds to honor Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, and Rep. Scott Plakon, R-Longwood, as 2011 AFP Legislators of the Year, AFP and the tea party groups will hold breakout sessions on economics and freedom throughout the Old Capitol and Capitol on Thursday.

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“The unique thing about this is that there is not a single person here that is going to go meet with a legislator with his hand out,” said AFP-Florida State Director Slade O’Brien. “We’re actually coming up here and telling them to stop spending money. We want them to cut programs. We want the money in our hands because we know how to do it better than they do.”

More than 350 attended a rally on the steps of the Historic Old Capitol Wednesday, some with signs proclaiming “Judgment Day November 6, 2012” and “Obama is still wasting our tax dollars.”

Speakers called for smaller government, and free-market reforms in order to revive the economy and create jobs.

A few mingling in the crowd handed out literature declaring President Barack Obama not to be a natural-born American citizen. A couple held up a banner declaring that “Florida Welcomes Illegal Aliens.”

AFP President Tim Phillips focused on spending by the White House.

“This week, in releasing his budget, the president made history. He’s the only president in American history and the only leader in world history to have now put forward four consecutive budget documents with trillion-dollar-plus deficits,” Phillips said. “This president has piled up more debt in three years than all the presidents from Washington to Clinton.”

Jason Hoyt of the Central Florida Tea Party said the event is part of a long process, but one that will allow Americans to avoid having to wake up one day regretting they didn’t act.

“I’m glad the weather is mild now, but we’re going to be sweating this summer with get-out-the-vote (tactics) and getting the message out. We’ve got to take our country back in November,” Hoyt said.

The event spurred a statement from Florida Democratic Party spokesman David Bergstein:

"The Tea Party is coming to visit their favorite extremist politician -- Rick Scott. Scott and the GOP-controlled Legislature have shown time and again that they care more about implementing an extreme agenda rather than improving Florida's economy -- moving our state in the wrong direction and forcing our recovery to lag behind the rest of the nation. While Democrats are fighting for middle class families, the Republicans' tea is already leaving a bad taste in the mouth of Florida's critical independent voters."

O’Brien asked those on the steps of the Old Capitol if the Democratic Party spoke for them: a resounding answer came “No.”

Comments (4)

Dave Francis

7:37PM FEB 16TH 2012

The American people, namely ' the increasing fathomless numbers of THE TEA PARTY" must unseat all radical Politicians, Governors, mayors, judges police chiefs and every elected official, city manager and councilman who are anti-sovereignty and pamper illegal aliens with taxpayer dollars. Their oaths of allegiance are meaningless to them as they have shown by their pro-illegal immigration agenda's. Antonio Villaraigosa, Los Angeles county mayor, the way he demonizes pro-sovereignty, anti-illegal alien activists should be one of the first to be recalled, as he answers to a government south of our border? Both political parties have been complicit in the flood of illegal migrants and immigrants that is estimated to be well over 20 million, not the numbers calculated by the US census bureau? Our only chance of stopping this scattering pestilence is to support the business mandatory E-Verify program and the Birthright citizenship Act that must be introduced in Congress right now.

Frank Sharry, Founder and Director of pro-amnesty group America's Voice and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Tex.) went was caught up in a verbal confrontation in The Huffington Post. Sharry calls Chairman Smith's mandatory E-verify bill "anti-immigrant legislation" and "unworkable and expensive bureaucracy." Sharry claims the bill would "grant the federal government the authority to approve or disapprove every new hire in America." That is how it should be, and rejection from being hired. A relatively simple solution that guarantees foreigners begin Mitt Romney’s ‘self-deportation’ antidote, better known as Attrition through Enforcement. Of Course Sharry doesn't individualize between a legal immigrant and illegal immigrant as it should be acknowledged or the Liberal media.

Rep. Smith defended E-Verify by saying the web-based program "quickly identifies illegal workers and protects jobs for citizens by checking Social Security numbers and ID of newly hired employees" and describes E-Verify as "free, quick and easy to use."

Rep. Smith cites a Rasmussen poll which found that 82% of likely voters think all businesses should be required to use E-Verify. Sharry, this open border individual and is now so frustrated and angry that millions of businesses have chosen to use E-Verify--both voluntary and state mandatory, that this far left progressive is reduced to name calling.

Sen. Lamar Smith’s E-Verify, “The Legal Workforce Act” is just tipping the scales and only needs a little more momentum from American voters to get this bill into Congress. The potential law has 74 co-sponsors and needs a final push of only 26 more lawmakers with a backbone; four of the co-sponsors are Democrats.

Join the TEA PARTY, as the refugees from every other delusional political voter and vote a Tea Party senate and house into office, displacing all those politicians and elected officers who protect illegal migrants and immigrants and betrayed the lawful U.S. Populace. These old party agenda is profit, votes and exploitation, and are in collusion with churches, unions, foreign governments and radical organizations and special interest groups. Illegal immigration has been forced on taxpayers through ‘UNFUNDED MANDATES’. These acts include free health care, free schooling, and has attributed to the loss of safety-net for Americans; coerced on citizens and lawful residents by liberal influenced courts.

Frosty Wooldridge said in his latest article:

Every indicator that our country is failing shows up daily with 15 million unemployed, 7 million underemployed, 46 million Americans subsisting on food stamps, $700 billion annual trade deficit, $15 trillion national debt, endless wars that cost $15 billion monthly and thousands of kids dropping out of high school daily. I have said it before: illiteracy defines a third world country. With 42 million functionally illiterate Americans, we are well on our way. Nonetheless, Congress pumps over 125,000 immigrants into this country every 30 days. I am beyond exasperated as to why and how we can do this to our country.

Learn more at NumbersUSA, how the government is defying the U. S. Constitution and the laws that govern us. Investigate even more the terrible penalty our nation pays, for unending spending on foreign nationals by Googling—“AMERICAN PATROL.” Seek out your politician either by phone at 202-224-3121, or go their office in person. Proclaim to them they are–OUT–if they vote for any kind of AMNESTY, disguised as Comprehensive Immigration Reform.

When the States of Arizona, Alabama, Georgia, Utah, Indiana and South Carolina is being financially crippled by the illegal alien invaders, it is undeniable that something smells of government corruption. These states have spoken out on behalf of their taxpayers, especially the border state of Arizona. Using fake ID, of exceptionally good quality unlawful nationals are able to qualify for food stamps, WICC and other public assistance programs. It is way past time that many incompetent administrations stopped this fraud? The only possible way is to issue every eligible US citizen and others able to qualify a National ID card, which can be substantiated?

Our Social Security numbers and other documentation has been compromised, as seen in the overwhelming amount of victims that is unceasing spreading across our nation.

Important: Voter fraud does exist and our only chance of fair and impartial elections, from now until the November Presidential is every citizen show official Identification. Non citizens have been registered to vote and will again in all electoral cycles, which could cause major issues in a close vote. Fake ID has been around for years, but is more prevalent now than ever before?

Keep the heat on! Even in the summer--ESPECIALLY in the summer, because that is when we can surge into the November elections. Stay on message: stop spending $$ we don't have; stop borrowing $$ we can't pay back.

Did I hear them right when they said 350? I attended the Save the State Rally in Tally and there were over 1,200 people there. They are having dinner at the Fairgrounds when last year it was in town at the DoubleTree and Herman Cain was the speaker.

Who were those people speaking in the video? Were they Tea Party activist or paid elite from AFP? I saw one person I recognized from last year. Is this Slade O'Brien an activist or a professional fund raiser?

For the love of God will someone, anyone step forward and get these people active again before it is too late?!!